Cyrus Batheja

Administrative Leadership

“We need more nurses in general, and nurses of diverse backgrounds to care for our diverse backgrounds. We need more diversity of thought in the profession.”

Photo by Becca Sabot

“Nursing is a life-altering experience, literally. We want the people who are willing to accept that life change.”

Photo by Becca Sabot

“In the worst of situations, love has been the single most important factor in my life. With that in mind, I encourage others to tap into the potential of love—toward themselves, their caregivers, and ‘others’.”

Cyrus BATHEJA came to the United States from London as a child. When the family business failed, his mother applied to nursing school at Normandale Community College so they could stay in the country. “Our only hope was her passing,” Batheja says. “I used to go with her to Normandale and sit in the biology lab and study with her. She passed, and she got our green card.”

Batheja came to see nursing as a way to work for equality, and he committed himself to the career. “As a first-generation immigrant, I am driven to improve the care of all people regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or physical ability.”

That’s what he does as the national corporate director of Medicaid community programs for UnitedHealth. He advocates for recipients’ unique needs, working closely with special populations as diverse as Hasidic Jews, Mandarin Chinese, and the blind. He and his wife, Becky, also operate a group home. On top of that, he’s a doctoral student in leadership at the University of St. Thomas. “If I can do anything, it’s to be able to provide equal rights for all people across the board, including nurses.”